Phil Harvey (manager)

When, in 1998, Martin complained to Harvey about the vice-like grip one of the Camden promoters had on the band, he suggested that they put on their own event at Dingwalls in Camden. It was here that they managed to sell the first fifty copies of the Safety EP, which Phil himself had helped fund along with his father (Christopher Harvey) and his Oxford roommate.[4] It is generally considered that this was when he could first be described as the band's manager.

Harvey eventually dropped out of his Oxford University studies to manage the band; he carried out the role more or less single-handedly until early 2001 when the stress of performing a role usually requiring a team of people forced him to take a prolonged break. He has since stated that the 2001 Brit Awards was his lowest point:

"I was feeling like death when I should have been on top of the world. The band picked up awards for Best British Band and Album and all I could think about was how much I wanted to be in bed. It was two days later that my doctor phoned to say she was worried I might be about to slip into a coma." [4]

Initially, Estelle Wilkinson and Dave Holmes jointly became Coldplay's managers for A Rush of Blood to the Head's promotion, but as of 2006, Holmes took over the role completely. Harvey left the band around 2003 and went to travel across the world, which led him to end up going to university in Australia, where he finished his degree.[5] Three years later and back to North London, Phil re-joined the band as the creative director, being heavily involved in it's output ever since, which can be seen in the liner notes for Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, Mylo Xyloto, Ghost Stories, A Head Full of Dreams and Everyday Life. This band membership was stressed by Coldplay in a direct appeal to Wikipedia on their site in 2008, pleading fans and "Wikipedia Enthusiasts" to rectify a few errors on their page. They stated that "(...) Coldplay officially have five members, with the mysterious Mr. Phil Harvey making up the quintet."[6] On Coldplay's Myspace and Facebook pages, he was described as "The wise, handsome, frightening one who tells us what to do."[7][8] Harvey has also made cameo appearances in Coldplay music videos: his first appearance was in "Life in Technicolor II" as one of the men carrying a video camera, and his second appearance was in "Christmas Lights" as one of the Elvises. He also played in the video for "Paradise" as one of two zookeepers chasing after the runaway elephant and features in a koala suit in "A Sky Full of Stars".

• Coldplay's Official Website